MXR M75 Super Badass® Distortion

Product Information

For the price, there had to be some compromised somewhere, and they come in the form of the pedal’s construction. It’s by no means bad - everything is laid out and finished well, including the footswitch, but rather than the usual metal, the SF300 is made from high impact plastic. It feels fine, but there’s a reason touring musicians will buy only pedals with a metal chassis. Simply plug the distortion pedal in between your guitar and amp, dial some adjustments in, and you’re ready to go. From then on, it’s all about tweaking whatever options available with your particular pedal. Once overdrive had become popular, however, guitarists wanted more. They wanted distortion. So they took overdrive methods and made them more aggressive. This was done by clipping the sine waves more aggressively using effects, and ultimately pedals. Overdrive pedals will clip softly, or smoothly. This is visualized as a narrowed wave that is still curved at the top. Distortion, however, will simply shear off the top of the curve into a (mostly) flat shape. Enough about the way it looks though - how does it sound? Loud. That’s probably the most accurate way of describing this pedal. It might be a no-nonsense one-knob pedal, but this is one impactful unit. Crank up the dial and it will deliver some seriously powerful distortion or fuzz. Think Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top cranked up to 11. It’s worth bearing in mind that the pedal’s sound is influenced considerably by the guitar output - you’ll get that beautiful not-quite-fuzz sound with the right setup.

The second MXR to make it onto our list, this one is not actually that far away from the Super Badass in terms of tone, but is absolutely deserves an entry of its own. If you want the ability to nail some soaring highs with a really hot sound, then this could well be your next distortion pedal. It’s not going to get you a heavy metal thump going on, but it is ideal for turning up the heat, with a natural feeling distortion sound that goes some way beyond mere overdrive. We also love the crunch button, which unlike a lot of pedal buttons, does exactly what you’d hope it does, and more, to the point that the first time you try it out, you won’t want to switch it off. Ideal if you want a few more lows and highs to build out your sound. Think next I'll need a new Dunlop wah and those we'll be the only two pedals I'll need for awhile and definitely will be getting some decent cord's.In addition, this becomes more complicated when some pedals are marketed as overdrive pedals, some are marketed as distortion pedals, and many even mention both. Hopefully, we’ll be able to clear up some of the confusion.

So what exactly does a distortion pedal do when you hit that footswitch? How do distortion pedals work? Would be cool if anyone can explain to me the distinction between Custom and Super and whether this is actually a proper subset of MXR or simply a marketing vehicle! What is not in dispute though is that these are some truly great sounding Overdrives, Distortions and Fuzz. And I’ve seen many a player cite the Modified Overdrive especially as one of their favourites of all tine. One of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to effects pedals, is “what is the difference between overdrive and distortion?”. In truth, they are quite similar, and the line is often blurred when people are describing the sound that they hear. Lots of guitarists themselves won’t even be able to distinguish between them in the middle of the mix, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t differences.

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Paired with a wah pedal, some Hendrix classics can also be played with this MXR masterpiece. The versatility of this MXR pedal is what makes it such a great go-to for beginners who have no "ideal" tone or preference when it comes to distortion. However, this does not mean it's only for newbies - the sound quality and tone-shaping makes it just as perfect for performers and recording professionals.

OK, so the SF300 distortion pedal is unashamedly inspired by offerings from Boss, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it certainly isn’t when you get this much pedal for such a tiny price. This thing is basically a catch-all for fuzzy distortion. It can do light 60s fuzz, from the time when overdrive was still seen as a bad thing by a lot of guitarists, to meaty, stoner fuzz that is super distorted.

Warranty Info

This unit hasn’t changed much on the outside since the 80s, and that’s no bad thing. It’s heavy duty, and we would not be surprised if it’s currently sitting on the pedalboard of some seriously famous touring musicians. The eye-catching orange chassis is now iconic and can be spotted on a pedalboard from a mile off, which makes it extremely cool in our eyes. Everything is screwed together solidly, and the trademark Boxx footswitch is so nice we wish it was on most other pedals.

When anyone comes looking for a distortion pedal, the first thing they have in mind is the type of music that they play. And often, that’s metal, because pretty much every single guitar in metal music is distorted. It’s worth bearing in mind of course that there are many, many different types of distortion that you can achieve using one of these pedals. They don’t all sound the same, so you can use them differently. On virtually all pedals, you’ll get one knob for controlling the gain or level of distortion, and it’s this you can use for going between an almost clean sound, to a very distorted noise.

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Although MXR pedals are known for their reliability and high quality, there are other great choices from its competitors such as the Boss DS-1, TC Dark Matter, and the Pro Co RAT. However, the M75 holds its own and is praised as one of the best sounding distortion effects in the market nowadays. Despite its pure analog circuit, the MXR Super Badass Distortion can pull off modern tones and is a great fit for any rig. This MXR Super Badass Distortion review will provide you with everything you need to know about the stompbox. Should You Get It? ProCo’s RAT 2 could in all honestly come very close to being our top choice, but it’s such an incredibly good distortion pedal for an incredibly good price, that it has to be our great value selection. It’s really not that often that you can say this about such a famous pedal either. There’s usually a premium to pay for a name, but there isn’t here. So, let's break down what to look for when choosing the best distortion pedal for your needs. What is a distortion pedal?